Cleared To Land
Subtitle: Memoirs of An Army Air Traffic Controller Vietnam-March 1968-Sept. 1971
By: FL
Publisher: Author House
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Bloomington, Indiana, USA
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover; Paperback; eBook
Number of pages: 171
Description: Review Written By Bernie Weisz  Historian/Vietnam War November 9, 2010  contact: BernWei1@aol.com Title of Review:  "Here I Am: a 19 Year Old Cherry FNG Behind an M-60, Seatbeltless At 3000' Freezing Over South Vietnam"  It is to this reviewer's amazement that the most informative subtleties of America's involvement in the Vietnam War come from the most unlikely sources. A perfect example is Jeff Fozard's "Cleared to Land". On the surface, this would appear to be a memoir of a man who served as an air traffic air controller in Vietnam telling a small circle of friends what his life was like as a result of his experiences. However, what comes out of this book are anecdotes, comparisons, analogies, and sardonic humor that will never make the history books. Needless to say, "Cleared To Land" is equally important and vital to historians, scholars, students or anyone who has an interest as to why America was in Vietnam and how did it come to be that 1.5 million Vietnamese were killed and 58,226 American soldiers also died or are missing in action. Let's also not forget that Australia lost almost 500 of the 47,000 troops they had deployed to Vietnam and New Zealand lost 38 soldiers. While Fozard's story doesn't tell the whole tale, it gives us small clues that when pieced together form an integral part of the puzzle known as "America's Vietnam debacle." 

During what was known as "The Summer of Love" (June, 1967), Fozard had completed a very unflattering year at Penn State University finishing with a 1.0 GPA. Living in the shadows of a paternal WW II and Korean War pilot, Fozard knew that between the draft lurking for college drop outs, and his father's urgings, it would be to his advantage to enlist in the military. Like his father before him, Fozard wanted to be a pilot. However, to fly anything in the Air Force, one had to have perfect vision, as no glasses were allowed. Unfortunately, Fozard failed his Air Force eye exam, and he tried the Army next. Fozard Sr. "knew" an eye specialist, and took his son for a second test, which he passed with flying colors. In joining the Army, Fozard felt that if he couldn't fly military hardware, at least he could fix whatever there was in Vietnam. On July 3, 1967, Fozard was actually sworn in by his father as a crew chief/aviation maintenance technician. From this point forward arises an incredible tale that Fozard richly embellishes with colorful, yet informative tidbits of this nearly 50 year old conflict that should be read by anyone interested in Vietnam. Fozard, known as "Fuzzy," went on to become a 19 year old Army Air Traffic Controller, a title of which he would perform the functions of for the next three years. Performing at the nerve racking pressure cooker position for which he was assigned at peak performance levels, Fozard cleared pilots to land at strategically important air fields in South Vietnam such as "Can Tho, Bear Cat, Phu Hiep and finally Phu Bai." Fuzzy worked for months at a time with an exhausting schedule of 12 hours on, 12 hours off straight without a replacement for months on end. Incredibly, he relaxed on his days off as a "strap hanger," another name for a substitute helicopter door gunner, eventually logging over 1000 hours of combat time. 

The author flew a variety of missions on a military helicopter powered by a single, turbo shaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor known as a "Huey," which saw wide use in Vietnam. Armed with only two M-60 D door guns, they were called "Slicks" because of their uncluttered external appearance, and instantly became the backbone of all airmobile combat operations. Unarmed MedEvac "Hueys" were called "Dust Offs", because of the clouds of dust kicked-up, when landing. Although Fozard flew as a door gunner on the UH-1 D Slick and UH-1 C Gun ship, thanks to the Vietnam War the "Huey" became the most universal military aircraft of the modern era, later serving in all four branches of the American uniformed services and in the armed forces of at least 48 other nations. Other types of helicopters Fozard flew and discussed in "Cleared to Land" were the "Ah-1 G Cobra, CH-47 Chinook's, and AC-47 "Spooky" Gunships." The Bell AH-1 Cobra was is a two-bladed, single engine attack helicopter and like the "Huey's", was also manufactured by Bell Helicopter. During the Vietnam War, the "AH-1 Cobra" was the backbone of the United States Army's attack helicopter fleet, although now in Iraq it has been replaced by the "AH-64 Apache." The Cobra appeared in June 1967, as Fozard was deciding to join the military. AH-1 Cobras were in use by the Army during the Tet Offensive in 1968 and served through the duration of America's involvement in the Vietnam War. They provided fire support for ground forces, escorted transport helicopters and other roles, such as forming "hunter killer" teams by pairing with OH-6 A scout (observation) helicopters. A team featured one OH-6 flying slow and low to find enemy forces. If the OH-6 drew fire, the Cobra could strike at the then revealed enemy. 

The Boeing "CH-47 Chinook" was a twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its primary role included troop movement, artillery emplacement and battlefield resupply. It had a wide loading ramp at the rear of the fuselage and three external-cargo hooks. Because it proved to be such an invaluable aircraft for artillery movement and heavy logistics, it was seldom used as an assault troop carrier. Some of the Chinook fleet were used for casualty evacuation. However, the most cost effective use of the Chinook was the recovery of other downed aircraft. Fozard also flew on the famed AC-47 gunship, which featured three Gatling guns on it's port side. The Air Force flew its AC-47 gunships in Vietnam utilizing the call sign "Spooky" or "Puff." Each of the three Gatling guns installed in "Puff" were capable of firing 100 rounds per second, or 6,000 rounds per minute PER GUN (and there were 3 guns!) The blistering fire from the eighteen barrels and the tracer rounds reaching to the ground from "Puff" looked like a "dragon's breath." That and the loud roar of the guns led to the moniker "Puff The Magic Dragon," taken from a folk song by Peter, Paul and Mary, made famous in the early 1960's. "Puff's" primary mission involved protecting villages, hamlets and personnel from NVA regulars and VC guerrillas. There are a plethora of Vietnam memoirs that exist describe how AC-47's came to the rescue and saved countless American lives. 

Despite the small stories that interweave within this memoir, the undercurrent of death and stress run constant throughout "Cleared to Land." During the war, for both military and administrative purposes the U.S. divided South Vietnam into 4 tactical zones. "I Corps" was in the northern part of South Vietnam, from the 17th parallel town of Quang Tri to Quang Ngai. "II Corps" was from Binh Dinh to Binh Thuan, essentially the middle part of South Vietnam. Going south was "III Corps" ranging from Binh Dinh to Binh Thuan, and finally the southern most provinces, starting with Binh Tuy through the Mekong Delta and Saigon, ending at An Xuyen. Fozard not only transversed the tributaries of Vietnam's waterways on Navy PBR's (Patrol Boat, River), but also flew everywhere, from the southern tip to all other 4 military corps, qualifying him as a highly experienced Vietnam Veteran. However, the most telling factor in debilitating performance, as pertaining to an air traffic controller in charge of expensive military aviation constantly needing direction was stress. Ten to fifteen aircraft departing or landing simultaneously was the norm...all needing Fozard's diligent direction to be cleared to take off or land. There were no holidays or sick days, as replacements didn't exist. Fozard chain smoked, reaching several near breaking points. As Fozard points out in this memoir, American air traffic controllers in Vietnam worked on a shift schedule that involved them performing their duties on weekends, holidays, and all hours of the day and night. 


Aside from the 12 hour shifts aforementioned with limited or no breaks, in a one hour sitting Fozard was responsible for more money and lives than an average person is during their entire lifetime. Three common stresses Fozard's job presented him with were: the complexity of traffic, working long shifts with no break, and dealing with complex traffic during adverse weather, i.e. the monsoon season. An air traffic controller in Vietnam really earned his money when multiple aircraft were conducting approaches on intersecting runways simultaneously while other aircraft are departing the same runways. There were times Fozard communicated with ten or more aircraft all within five miles of each other, and many on converging courses. Some pilots, particularly of the South Vietnamese Air force, spoke unintelligible English. Fozard needed to combine all the positions in his tower, e.g. talking with aircraft in the sky, on the ground, and coordinating with other South Vietnamese air facilities simultaneously. However, there is way more to this book than the travails of an air traffic controller. If one reads this book with a keen eye, Fozard gives hints to some of the reasons America was unable to succeed in bringing a victorious conclusion to this conflict. 

Before being deployed to Vietnam, Fozard found himself at Ft. Rucker, Alabama, where after he was trained in basic on an M-14 assault rifle, he was given an M-16, which became a mainstay and primary tool of an American combat soldier. His reaction to the different weapon was as follows: "Compared to the M-14 in Basic, the M-16 feels like some of the toy guns I had as a kid. Well, that's what we have. Like the joke..."If It's made by Mattel, it's swell." Fozard had ignored a high school classmate's admonition to not get into helicopters in Vietnam, as they were unsafe. However, he learned a valuable lesson about America's allies, the South Vietnamese Army (called "ARVN") in his day off relaxation pastime of being a "strap hanger". Flying his first combat assault, where he was transporting ARVN soldiers via helicopter into battle, Fozard had this to comment about the troops Americans would die in the trenches to support: "Sometimes when landing zones were hot, the ARVN's wouldn't get off the bird (helicopter). The barrel (a hot M-60 machine gun barrel from a door gunner burned up from the shooting) was used as an incentive on the back of their helmets. They got off real fast after that. I was also told that I should watch the troops when they did get out of the bird in a "hot" LZ. Occasionally, an ARVN would get off the bird and if the odds weren't in their favor, he would decide to turn VC. When he got away form the helicopter, he'd turn around and shoot at the crew and the bird." Fozard also relates about the dangers of North Vietnamese booby traps in landing zones aimed at our helicopters. Fozard described it as such: "Wires were run from tree to tree with explosives set to go off when the helicopters hit the wires with their skids. The explosives would be set in the trees for an air burst causing more damage or killing in the LZ. The "Bouncing Betty" was set on the ground with a spring-loaded trip wire. When the explosives hit the trip wire, the spring would throw the grenade/explosive charge into the air for another type of air burst. The air-bursts are very deadly to the troops and helicopters." 

As an air traffic controller, Fozard saw supposedly allied South Vietnamese aviators as an uncooperative enigma. It is truly no wonder how rapidly the South collapsed after America completed "Vietnamization", which was President Richard Nixon's policy of transferring to the South Vietnamese complete responsibility for fighting the war It is to this reviewer's amazement that the most informative subtleties of America's involvement in the Vietnam War come from the most unlikely sources. A perfect example is Jeff Fozard's "Cleared to Land". On the surface, this would appear to be a memoir of a man who served as an air traffic air controller in Vietnam telling a small circle of friends what his life was like as a result of his experiences. However, what comes out of this book are anecdotes, comparisons, analogies, and sardonic humor that will never make the history books. Needless to say, "Cleared To Land" is equally important and vital to historians, scholars, students or anyone who has an interest as to why America was in Vietnam and how did it come to be that 1.5 million Vietnamese were killed and 58,226 American soldiers also died or are missing in action. Let's also not forget that Australia lost almost 500 of the 47,000 troops they had deployed to Vietnam and New Zealand lost 38 soldiers. While Fozard's story doesn't tell the whole tale, it gives us small clues that when pieced together form an integral part of the puzzle known as "America's Vietnam debacle." 

During what was known as "The Summer of Love" (June, 1967), Fozard had completed a very unflattering year at Penn State University finishing with a 1.0 GPA. Living in the shadows of a paternal WW II and Korean War pilot, Fozard knew that between the draft lurking for college drop outs, and his father's urgings, it would be to his advantage to enlist in the military. Like his father before him, Fozard wanted to be a pilot. However, to fly anything in the Air Force, one had to have perfect vision, as no glasses were allowed. Unfortunately, Fozard failed his Air Force eye exam, and he tried the Army next. Fozard Sr. "knew" an eye specialist, and took his son for a second test, which he passed with flying colors. In joining the Army, Fozard felt that if he couldn't fly military hardware, at least he could fix whatever there was in Vietnam. On July 3, 1967, Fozard was actually sworn in by his father as a crew chief/aviation maintenance technician. From this point forward arises an incredible tale that Fozard richly embellishes with colorful, yet informative tidbits of this nearly 50 year old conflict that should be read by anyone interested in Vietnam. Fozard, known as "Fuzzy," went on to become a 19 year old Army Air Traffic Controller, a title of which he would perform the functions of for the next three years. Performing at the nerve racking pressure cooker position for which he was assigned at peak performance levels, Fozard cleared pilots to land at strategically important air fields in South Vietnam such as "Can Tho, Bear Cat, Phu Hiep and finally Phu Bai." Fuzzy worked for months at a time with an exhausting schedule of 12 hours on, 12 hours off straight without a replacement for months on end. Incredibly, he relaxed on his days of as a "strap hanger," another name for a substitute helicopter door gunner, eventually logging over 1000 hours of combat time. 

The author flew a variety of missions on a military helicopter powered by a single, turbo shaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor known as a "Huey," which saw wide use in Vietnam. Armed with only two M-60 D door guns, they were called "Slicks" because of their uncluttered external appearance, and instantly became the backbone of all airmobile combat operations. Unarmed MedEvac "Hueys" were called "Dust Offs", because of the clouds of dust kicked-up, when landing. Although Fozard flew as a door gunner on the UH-1 D Slick and UH-1 C Gun ship, thanks to the Vietnam War the "Huey" became the most universal military aircraft of the modern era, later serving in all four branches of the American uniformed services and in the armed forces of at least 48 other nations. Other types of helicopters Fozard flew and discussed in "Cleared to Land" were the "Ah-1 G Cobra, CH-47 Chinook's, and AC-47 "Spooky" Gun ships." The Bell AH-1 Cobra was is a two-bladed, single engine attack helicopter and like the "Huey's", was also manufactured by Bell Helicopter. During the Vietnam War, the "AH-1 Cobra" was the backbone of the United States Army's attack helicopter fleet, although now in Iraq it has been replaced by the "AH-64 Apache." The Cobra appeared in June 1967, as Fozard was deciding to join the military. AH-1 Cobras were in use by the Army during the Tet Offensive in 1968 and served through the duration of America's involvement in the Vietnam War. They provided fire support for ground forces, escorted transport helicopters and other roles, such as forming "hunter killer" teams by pairing with OH-6 A scout (observation) helicopters. A team featured one OH-6 flying slow and low to find enemy forces. If the OH-6 drew fire, the Cobra could strike at the then revealed enemy. 

The Boeing "CH-47 Chinook" was a twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its primary role included troop movement, artillery emplacement and battlefield resupply. It had a wide loading ramp at the rear of the fuselage and three external-cargo hooks. Because it proved to be such an invaluable aircraft for artillery movement and heavy logistics, it was seldom used as an assault troop carrier. Some of the Chinook fleet were used for casualty evacuation, however, the most cost effective use of the Chinook was the recovery of other downed aircraft. Fozard also flew on the famed AC-47 gun ship, which featured three Gatling guns on it's port side. The Air Force flew its AC-47 gun ships in Vietnam utilizing the call sign "Spooky" or "Puff." Each of the three Gatling guns installed in "Puff" were capable of firing 100 rounds per second, or 6,000 rounds per minute PER GUN (and there were 3 guns!) The blistering fire from the eighteen barrels and the tracer rounds reaching to the ground from Puff" looked like a "dragon's breath." That and the loud roar of the guns led to the moniker "Puff The Magic Dragon," taken from a folk song by Peter, Paul and Mary, made famous in the early 1960's. "Puff's" primary mission involved protecting villages, hamlets and personnel from NVA regulars and VC guerrillas. There are a plethora of Vietnam memoirs that exist describe how AC-47's came to the rescue and saved countless American lives. 

Despite the small stories that interweave within this memoir, the undercurrent of death and stress run constant throughout this book. For military and administrative purposes, the U.S. divided South Vietnam during the course of the war into 4 tactical zones. "I Corps" was in the northern part of South Vietnam, from the 17th parallel town of Quang Tri to Quang Ngai. "II Corps" was from Binh Dinh to Binh Thuan, essentially the middle part of South Vietnam. Going south was "III Corps" ranging from Binh Dinh to Binh Thuan, and finally the southern most provinces, starting with Binh Tuy through the Mekong Delta and Saigon, ending at An Xuyen. Fozard not only transversed the tributaries of Vietnam's waterways on Navy PBR's (Patrol Boat, River ), but also flew everywhere, from the southern tip to all other 4 military corps, qualifying him as a highly experienced Vietnam Veteran. However, the most telling factor in debilitating performance, as pertaining to an air traffic controller in charge of expensive military aviation constantly needing direction is stress. Ten to 15 aircraft departing or landing simultaneously was the norm...all needing Fozard's diligent direction to be cleared to take off or land. There were no holidays or sick days, as replacements didn't exist. Fozard chain smoked, reaching several near breaking points. As Fozard points out in this memoir, American Air Traffic Controllers in Vietnam worked on a shift schedule that involved them performing their duties on weekends, holidays, and all hours of the day and night. 


Aside from the 12 hour shifts aforementioned with limited or no breaks, in a one hour sitting Fozard was responsible for more money and lives than an average person is during their entire lifetime. Three common stresses Fozard's job presented him with were: the complexity of traffic, working long shifts with no break, and dealing with complex traffic during adverse weather. An air traffic controller in Vietnam really earned his money when multiple aircraft were conducting approaches on intersecting runways simultaneously while other aircraft are departing the same runways. There were times Fozard communicated with ten or more aircraft all within five miles of each other, and many on converging courses. Some pilots, particularly of the South Vietnamese Air force, spoke unintelligible English. over one hundred operations an hour. Fozard needed to combine all positions in his tower, talking with aircraft in the sky, on the ground, and coordinating with other South Vietnamese air facilities simultaneously. However, there is way more to this book than the travails of an air traffic controller. If one reads this book with a keen eye, Fozard gives hints to some of the reasons America was unable to succeed in bringing a victorious conclusion to this conflict. 

Before being deployed to Vietnam, Fozard found himself at Ft. Rucker, Alabama, where after he was trained in basic on an M-14 assault rifle, he was given an M-16, which became a mainstay and primary tool of an American combat soldier. His reaction to the different weapon was as follows: "Compared to the M-14 in Basic, the M-16 feels like a some of the toy guns I had as a kid. Well, that's what we have. Like the joke..."If It's made by Mattel, it's swell." Fozard had ignored a high school classmate's admonition to not get into helicopters in Vietnam, as they were unsafe. However, he learned a valuable lesson about America's allies, the South Vietnamese Army (called "ARVN") in his day off relaxation pastime of being a "strap hanger". Flying his first combat assault, where he was transporting ARVN soldiers via helicopter into battle, Fozard had this to comment about the troops Americans would die in the trenches to support: "Sometimes when landing zones were hot, the ARVN's wouldn't get off the bird (helicopter). The barrel (a hot M-60 machine gun barrel burned up from the shooting) was used as an incentive on the back of their helmets. They got off real fast after that. I was also told that I should watch the troops when they did get out of the bird in a "hot" LZ. Occasionally, an ARVN would get off the bird and if the odds weren't in their favor, he would decide to turn VC. When he got away form the helicopter, he'd turn around and shoot at the crew and the bird." Fozard also relates about the dangers of North Vietnamese booby traps in landing zones aimed at our helicopters. Fozard described it as such: "Wires were run from tree to tree with explosives set to go off when the helicopters hit the wires with their skids. The explosives would be set in the trees for an air burst causing more damage or killing in the LZ. The "Bouncing Betty" was set on the ground with a spring-loaded trip wire. When the explosives hit the trip wire, the spring would throw the grenade/explosive charge into the air for another type of air burst. The air-bursts are very deadly to the troops and helicopters." 

As an air traffic controller, Fozard saw the South Vietnamese aviators as an uncooperative enigma. Based on the following anecdote, it is no wonder how rapidly the South collapsed after America completed "Vietnamization", which was President Richard Nixon's policy of transferring to the South Vietnamese complete responsibility for fighting the war. Fozard elaborated this priceless story while directing air traffic in "Can Tho" Tower while truckloads of ARVN troops were being picked up by a gaggle of 10 South Vietnamese piloted H-34 Choctaw transport helicopters for an unknown combat assault: "You could tell a bad day was coming when there would be trucks bringing ARVN troops in the gate below the tower. The troops are loaded (into the CH-34's) and the lead (South Vietnamese) pilot calls in Romeo Bravo flight of 10, ready for take off." If I didn't clear them for takeoff, I think they would've gone anyway. They start their "pitch pull" as soon as I clear them for takeoff. I watched them and the next to last bird in the flight pulls out of his position and goes up to take lead. After a dozen of these CA's (combat assaults) at Can Tho, I still don't know why this happened, Every time they takeoff, one of the birds in the back of the formation will pull out of formation and take the lead position. I have had the call, "Romeo Bravo, We go now." They just start pulling pitch and departing, clearance or not." 

Fozard's expose describes events that never made U.S. headlines nor textbooks. As a tragic example, a "slick" helicopter called Fozard while he was working in the tower explaining that his gunner was wounded mortally and that the bird he was flying was all shot up. The pilot explained to Fozard that he was going to try to make it to the next airport at Binh Thuy, which had an evacuation hospital. Fozard pleaded with the pilot to set the chopper down at Can Tho and let someone else fly them to Binh Thuy. The recalcitrant pilot ignored Fozard and continued on despite the wounded on board and the helicopter being severely damaged. Fozard saw next a memory he sadly remembers in this book: "I watched the Slick drop out of the sky toward the ground. He went below the treetops and the next thing I saw was black smoke rising from the place where the bird went down. It has been over 40 years since I watched him go down. I can still see him dropping out of the sky. Some of the bad things you just cannot erase from your memory." There are more nuggets of events, such as the time Fozard went on a combat assault to resupply a Special Forces team in a remote area near the Cambodian border. There, he was shown a Viet Cong cave, which he described as follows: "The cave found had been a VC hospital. There were rooms in the cave bigger than a house trailer. Some of the exit tunnels led into Cambodia. The military hit the "Seven Sisters" (these were VC infested mountains near Chu Lang close to the Vietnamese-Cambodian border) with all kinds of artillery, helicopter gun ships and even B-52 strikes. There is probably one little stone that will bring the whole mountain down. But it will take a million years to find it." 

There are other invaluable nuggets historically important that Fozard discusses. Various topics, such as the effects of napalm, R & R in Australia, the May, 1970 Cambodian incursion, drugs in Vietnam (particularly with marijuana usage among Thai troops) are analyzed. In addition, a "Spooky" raid (the The Douglas AC-47 "Puff" with it's 3 Gatling guns) as well as Fozard's venture into "gun running" are broached. Aside from a graphic photo showing the aftermath of a B-52 air strike, Fozard paints a vivid picture to the reader of this recollection, describing it as such: "The results of the strikes were amazing. The ground would have craters from the bomb for almost a mile. The craters would be in straight lines with sometimes 5 or 6 parallel lines of craters. If there was any enemy left alive, you may see them coming out of the wood line with blood running out of their ears from the concussion blast. It is not a pretty site." Fozard suggests implicitly why the U.S. was less than victorious in Vietnam, in terms of the ally we were supporting. Brutal, insensitive, traitorous, murderous, barbaric and untrustworthy, the ARVN were less than desirous as a worthy war partner. In an interesting story, Fozard wrote about a combat assault that he went on where he witnessed the following: "One mission I had was to the island off the west coast of Vietnam. When we landed, the ARVN Rangers had a half dozen captured VC being interrogated. The VC were on their knees with ropes tied from their hands to their necks. We flew out on our mission and when we got back, the VC prisoners were gone. There was nothing left except for some bloodstains where they had been kneeling. I do not think they had cut their fingers." There is another incident Fozard included that involved a U.S. piloted Cobra flying night security around Fozard's base at Can Tho. Fozard's base had been attacked nocturnally by anonymous VC shelling and the Cobra's mission was to suppress any of these attacks. An ARVN compound was located several miles away from the airfield. 

The following description is symptomatic of the entire American dysphoria that would only end in Paris, at the signing of the 1973 Peace Accords. As the aforementioned American Cobra flew over the ARVN compound, Fozard witnessed the following: "I saw some tracers going up toward the bird. He was taking fire from the compound. The Cobra broke away and then called me. He said to contact the TOC 
(Tactical Operations Center) and tell them that if he saw one more round come up from the compound toward him, he would "hose down" the compound with his "mini-gun." I called the TOC and relayed the message to them. They said, "He can't do that." I told them that I was just passing the message to them. About 30 minutes later, the Cobra was passing the ARVN compound again. As he passed, I saw the tracers come out of the compound. As I grabbed the phone to call the TOC, the Cobra called me and said he was inbound HOT on the ARVN compound. I told the TOC that the Cobra had taken fire from the compound again and that he was rolling in on the compound with his mini-gun. I think the sergeant in the TOC screamed when I told him. The Cobra made one pass with his mini-gun. I don't know if he actually hit the compound or just ran it along the perimeter. He probably just ran a burst around the perimeter as a warning, but I never saw any rounds come out of the compound again!" Jeff Fozard's memoir is a tremendous brainstorm of the Vietnam War. It is a mandatory read full of historical knowledge, not just the meaningless ramblings of a "REMF Lifer" Jeff Fozard started this memoir with a quote he saw on a bumper sticker which read: "Join The Army & See The World On The Way to South Vietnam." However, he ultimately quipped while waiting in an Australian eatery during his R & R a summation of his final thoughts: "I wanted a real steak not a grisly old water buffalo and the smell of nuoc mam stinking up the restaurant!" .